Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Case 1 - Citizens Card Standards Tool-kit Development

The Challenge

Many public sector organisations in the UK were considering the implementation of smartcards. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was tasked with developing a standardised tool kit that would ensure that all public sector issued smartcards were interoperable. As a senior member of the ODPM Interoperability Working Group, the MD of Consulting Smart was asked to develop a vital part of the toolkit - a set of technical standards.

Our Approach

Consultancy
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Consulting Smart researched and analysed all existing open source technical standards, and put together a series of recommendations. To validate the proposed standards a working group of public sector bodies including transport, local government, financial services and card & chip manufacturers was formed. After several iterations, a draft table of standards with narratives was produced.
Three public sector smartcard schemes beta tested the standards as part of scheme build. Following beta test, some enhancements were made and the project was completed.

The Result

The OEPM ratified the standards and they became became table 11 of the UK Smartcard Interoperability Technical Standards Catalogue, which is now part of the eGIF. Every pensioner in the country has benefitted from the work of Consulting Smart, as they can use their free bus pass anywhere in the UK.

Case 2 - Smartcard Feasibility - Commercial Applications

The Challenge

As part of the National Smartcard Project (NSCP), Work Package 6 was set up to validate the potential use of commercial partner funding and participation in a local authority lead citizen’s card scheme. To facilitate this, four individual pilot projects were initiated with Southampton Football Club; Red Funnel Ferries, Southampton; Southampton Bus Project and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead “Advantage” card.

Our Approach

Consultancy
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First we researched the four pilot projects from inception to identify the objectives, deliverables and benefits sought from each.
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The stakeholders & Senior Responsible Officers were then interviewed to establish the lessons learned and to gain an understanding of why expected outcomes were not all realized. These findings were then compared to other similar initiatives with commercial revenue generation aspects. The findings, comparisons and recommendations were documented and delivered under budget in a timely and efficient manner.

The Result

A final Report and Recommendations Document was presented to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The client was very happy with the level of detail in the report and the professionalism exhibited whilst undertaking this politically sensitive task.